1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to meteorological event detection, and particularly to a sand and dust storm detection method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Sand and dust storms (SDSs) offer very serious hazards to the environment, economy and health. An early warning of an upcoming SDS would allow people to take precautionary measures. Traditionally, satellite imaging is used to detect large-scale and long-term SDSs. However, small-scale and short-term SDSs may go undetected due to the poor spatial and temporal resolution of satellites.
Sand and dust storms (SDSs) appear frequently in the Middle-East, Australia, North-Africa, and North China during spring, winter and early summer. There are four main types of SDSs, including small-scale SDS (covers a small geographic area), large-scale SDS (covers a vast geographic area), short-term SDS (exists for a few minutes or hours), and long-term SDS (exists for many days or months).
An early warning of an upcoming SDS can help in avoiding serious consequences by letting people take some preventive measures. However, this requires continuous monitoring of sand and dust in the area of interest. Several technologies are available for sand and dust monitoring, including video-surveillance, sensory information, satellite imagery, unmanned aerial vehicles, etc. However, a particular technology is suitable only for the specific type of SDS. For example, satellite imaging can detect only large-scale and long-term SDSs due to poor spatial and temporal resolution of the images, while WSNs can detect SDSs of all types, except for large-scale SDSs due to their deployment in a limited area.
Thus, a sand and dust storm detection method solving the aforementioned problems is desired.